


The Thing About Love

by aloha_cowboy7



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Apparently all I know how to write is fluff and anxiety, Fluff and Smut, M/M, More Fluff, Murder by Fluff, Nick and Greg Shenanigans, Nick has an angsty moment, SO MUCH FLUFF, Smut, Smutty fluffest?, So much smut, These boys cannot keep their hands to themselves, They go HARD, We went from rated G to NC-17 real quick, disaster bois, fluffy smutfest?, proposal fic, pure fluff, rating will go up in future chapters, so much love, very brief mention of a suicidal thought
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloha_cowboy7/pseuds/aloha_cowboy7
Summary: Nick and Greg make the trip back to Texas for some family fun and some major declarations of love.
Relationships: Greg Sanders & Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Comments: 36
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first multi-chapter fic! Let me know what I can do to improve!  
> Many many many thanks to jiminthestreets_bonesinthesheets for helping me through some ideas! She's pretty awesome :)

It’s finally happening, Greg and I are making the trip to Texas to meet the whole Stokes clan. He has met my parents and most of my siblings, but its time to meet everyone else, especially if he’s going to be a part of the family sometime soon. So here we are on an airplane on the way to Austin. Greg has been talking about this for weeks, he wants to know all my old stomping grounds, wants to see all of the places from my childhood. He even asked to go on a date that I would have planned as a teenager, ask and he shall receive.

I love that he wants all of this, my family life is so very different from His family and how he grew up. He grew up in a small family, as an only child, I don’t even think he had pets growing up. I think that’s why he is so interested in my upbringing. He wants to see how I grew up on a ranch, with the dogs, horses, cattle, and eight other people in the house. Things have obviously changed since I was a rowdy teenager, siblings have gotten married and had kids, the house has been expanded, animals have come and gone, but it will always be home and I want to share that with him.

We’re in Texas for the rest of the week and little does Greg know, we will be engaged by the time we leave on Sunday morning, that is if he says yes, but there’s no way in hell he would turn me down. I was so nervous going through security at the airport, if my bag got searched, they were going to open the box and ruin my surprise. I think he noticed how nervous I was, he even asked me why I looked so uncomfortable, I said it was because I don’t like flying, which is true and he knows, but not the reason for today’s nerves.

I haven’t been back home in a year and a half. We spent the holidays in California this year with Greg’s family. It was a much calmer Christmas than I’m used to, no nieces and nephews to chase, no siblings to bicker with, but it was a nice change of pace. I wonder what he will think when he experiences his first Stokes Christmas, but maybe next year we will do our own thing, run away to an island just the two of us.

Greg looks at me as we’re landing, “what’s on your mind? Are you excited to see everyone?” I smile, “very. I think after Mom and Dad pick us up, we’re headed straight to the ranch.” “Good, I can’t wait to have the full Texan experience with my very own Texan.”

\-----------

We walk out of the airport and meet my parents, surprisingly they go to hug Greg before me, I feign hurt before my Mom hugs me. “Your Honor, Mrs. Stokes, great to see you again!” My mom quips back in a tone saved for her own children, “Greg! I’ve told you to lose the formalities, Nick can attest to the what happens if I have to tell you again!” My dad and I share a knowing look while Greg smiles and tries again “Hi Bill and Jillian, it is very nice to see you again” “Much better, kiddo.”

We’re in the truck driving up the highway, Greg is sitting with his face against the window looking out at the fields with wonder. I take his hand in mine, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb. “I’ve never seen anyone so impressed with farmland Greggo.” “It seems so foreign, you know so different from Vegas or California, and there’s cows, which might just be the most exciting part!” My parents overhear our conversation and laugh at his comment. Damn, it feels good to be around my family again.

An hour later we’re finally at the ranch, Greg was clearly surprised at how long it took to get to the ranch, “I thought you said you lived in Austin babe.” “Well in the grand scheme of Texas, this is still technically a suburb of Austin.” “Texas is weird.” “I know, darlin’.”

We walk into the house and are greeted by two dogs and at least three of my nieces, all needing attention. Greg goes for the dogs first, “what are their names?” “The retriever is Lou, and the lab is Mack.” I am suddenly bombarded by kids needing hugs from their Uncle Nick. My sister Charlotte is the first one to come and help wrangle the welcome party. Charlotte is the oldest Stokes kid. She’s 15 years older than me, and she is definitely the one in charge of the band of misfit Stokes. I hug her and ask who else is home, “well, and your brothers are off doing something involving one of their various toys, not sure if it’s the ATVs or guns at the moment, and everyone else is coming up tomorrow.” She’s always been good at keeping track of all of us. Greg looks so happy amongst all of this insanity; it gives me hope for some day having a big family of our own. Greg whispers to me “why did she call them _your_ brothers specifically?” “well they’re our brothers when they are behaving like grown men and _my_ brothers when they are doing something crazy, the girls don’t always want to be associated with three wild boys.”

A little while later after catching up with my sister and brothers we move further into the house. Mom is yelling something about dinner in thirty minutes. I want a little time with my man before the dinner circus begins, and I bet he feels the same. He has been barraged with questions and attacked by the kids wanting someone new to play with.

When I find him sitting drinking a beer with my brothers, I smile and take his hand, “mom said dinner’s in thirty, but first, you’re going to need a tour of the house, I want to show you where we’re sleeping. Shall we?” We first walk into the kitchen and dining room, then the living room, then past all of the other bedrooms, and finally to my childhood bedroom. “This is where we’re staying. It has looked the same since I moved to college. A lot has happened here, learned a lot of things and made a few mistakes within these walls.” He looks at me with a sense of wonder, “you know, you can learn a lot about someone from their bedroom, but I think you can learn even more when you see their unchanged childhood bedroom. What am I going to learn about you, Nicky?”

Like a good CSI, Greg is looking at everything, as if he was working a crime scene, he wants to see and analyze every little detail. He asks me about the various sports medals and academic achievements. “You never told me that I was dating a nerdy jock! I mean I knew you were a jock but look at all of these academic achievements.” I grab my college diploma; I haven’t properly looked at it since the day it was handed to me. “You want to see something you probably won’t believe?” “Sure.” I open the diploma and point to the gold lettering that says, “ _Summa Cum Laude.”_ Greg grins at me “what you’re saying is that I basically won the boyfriend jackpot, brains and brawn?” Greg has always been the “brain” of our relationship, and I mean he’s never thought I wasn’t smart; I just don’t think my academic achievements have ever been brought up.

The next thing he notices is the bed and gives me that look. The look that tells me that I’m in for it. “yes, hun?” he knows I’m on to him. “Would you maybe like to have some pre-dinner fun?” “Now that’s a dangerous proposition, everyone is just down the hall!” he smirks at me, moving in closer, hands on my hips, fingers snaking into the back pockets of my jeans, “haven’t you ever brought a guy or girl in here and snuck in some lovin’ when your family’s been around?” “Uh, no actually you’re the first. This was always my place, like my safe zone, you know? I had other places I went to fool around” He moves in to kiss me, starts kissing my neck, the place he goes to get me to give in, he’s whispering between kisses, “I get that, does that mean we can’t do _anything_ in a bed this entire week?” “I don’t know yet. I still feel like a teenager who’s going to get in trouble when I come back here.” Greg looks back at me indignantly, “you better take me to your other spots then, or else!” “I was already planning on it darlin’. You should be well aware on my inability to keep my hands off of you…” Sensing defeat, he breaks away from me, never letting my hand out of his.

The next thing I know my Boyfriend is wearing my old cowboy hat. Little does he know that I’ve been dying to see him wear one. He’s scheming something, I just know it. My suspicion is confirmed when he asks, “can I take a ride cowboy?” Shit, so much for my rule of no fooling around in the bedroom. I feel the telltale signs of arousal creeping in. I know he notices. I grab him by the hips, pulling him closer to me, and move to tip the hat up and go in to kiss him. I need to hit the brakes, if we go any further it will not be a quiet endeavor, and I can’t have anyone hearing us, at least not on our first night here.

\-----------

After dinner, my sister and brothers have gathered up their various offspring, and gone to their respective homes, the rest of us are sitting around the living room. Greg has both dogs cuddled up against him, we’re all chatting and reminiscing, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. It feels so domestic, I love it. I missed this more than I thought. The team in Vegas is my chosen family, and I love them all, but there is always something different about being back where you grew up with your own flesh and blood.

Greg is now privy to some of the most embarrassing moments of my childhood and seen many pictures of my various phases in life. His favorite picture was of me when I was around three or four, wearing a ridiculous princess dress and my tiny cowboy boots. My mom just had to tell him the story behind the picture, she found much too much joy in including the detail that even though I was being dressed up against my will, I was the one to pick out the fluffy purple dress, because it went with my little black boots that I refused to take off at any time other than sleeping or bathing. He seems to be enjoying all of it a little too much, I bet he will be using some of the divulged information as ammunition to tease me. For some reason, I am completely okay with that.

Greg yawns and says something about wanting to shower and go to bed, but I’m not really paying attention to what he is saying. It has been a very long day and we are trying to readjust to the normal hours of life, which is a struggle for those of us who are creatures of the night. Being tired is not the reason I’m distracted though; I’m thinking about how what I’m about to tell my parents. I have butterflies in my stomach, I haven’t felt like this since we started dating.

I walk back to the bedroom with him so he can shower. I tell him that I’m going to go back and talk with my parents some more. With Greg occupied for the next twenty or so minutes, I know that this is my opportunity to tell my parents my plan. After he has walked out of the bedroom, I am scrambling to get the box and ring that I have carried all this way. I’ve kept it hidden for weeks now; I want to show my parents. I can’t wait to tell them how much he means to me.

With a goofy grin plastered on my face, looking like a fool in love, I begin to make my announcement, “mom, Cisco, I have something to tell you.” From my facial expression, my parents know it is good news rather than the bad news that usually follows me. “What’s up, Pancho?” I think about how to begin, “well you know that Greg and I have been together for quite a while now, and I think I’m going to propose this week.” I see the tears in my mom’s eyes, and I continue my ramblings. “And what I’ve learned over the years is that the thing about love, is that it sometimes it just hits you like a freight train. It hits you as he’s rushing out of his lab with DNA evidence, running to tell his boss about the major case break. That’s when I fell in love, when he ran into me running through the hall trying to share his discovery. This man is the love of my life, he is perfect for me, his personality is the perfect opposite of mine, his strengths compliment my weaknesses, and he supports me in all aspects of my life. He has helped me through some of my darkest moments. I cannot wait to be married to him. I want to spend every moment of the rest of my life with him. I feel physical pain when he is away. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” I feel tears starting to well in my eyes, my mom is openly weeping at this point, and my dad would never admit it, but I think he shed a tear as well. I pull out the ring to show them. It is a simple silver band with three inlaid black diamonds. I knew I couldn’t get just any ring for this man. I had to get something that was different, perfect for the man who likes latex and Marilyn Manson.

Moments pass before anyone says anything, my dad is the first to break the silence, “I am so happy for you, it is obvious that this man is someone special to you, and he will be welcomed into the Stokes family with open arms.” We sit in a comfortable silence for a little while longer.

My parents are getting up to go to bed, telling me goodnight. I quickly realize that I have to run back to my bedroom to make sure I can put the ring away before Greg comes back in the room. I sit on my bed just looking at the ring for a bit longer. I don’t know how I am going to wait until Friday to propose, but with everything we have been through, all the time we have been together, what is waiting four more days to make it the most perfect evening. I hear the shower turn off in the adjoining bathroom, so I quickly tuck the ring back into its place in my bag.

As I’m changing out of my clothes, I feel my lover come up and hug me from behind. This is where I’m happiest, in the arms of my soulmate. He’s kissing my shoulders, then up my neck. I turn around to properly kiss him. I try to convey all of my love and happiness into a simple kiss. “Let’s go to bed and cuddle darlin’ its been a really long day” he beams at me “yeah, okay honey.”

I must admit that this is my favorite part of my day, in bed, the love of my life laying on my chest, tracing nondescript doodles on my body. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. I kiss his head and whisper sweet nothings in his ear as he’s falling asleep. He looks up at me, clearly fighting sleep, “did you know your accent gets thicker when you’re around your family? ‘s really cute.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing their little love-filled trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to jiminthestreets_bonesinthesheets for being my sounding board and helping me with some great ideas, also my personal hype squad. She's my favorite.

I never liked walking up in the morning, that is until I got to wake up just a little too warm because the love of my life has wrapped himself around me. It feels fucking fantastic. It is not a feeling I ever felt with anyone else. It’s a feeling I’ll never get enough of.

Greg begins to stir against me, and thus begins our morning routine of spending absolutely as long as possible in bed before we have to start our day. Normally, we would start to kiss, and we spiral from there. We can’t do that now though; we have places to be and things to do. Greg is about to be subjected to thorough interrogation and intimidation by my two older brothers.

I’m rubbing his shirtless back while he kisses my chest. I don’t want to move but we have to get up and moving before someone barges in, and we definitely cannot be caught in any compromising position. I’d never hear the end of it.

“Hey darlin’, we’ve gotta get going, my brothers are probably ready to leave, and knowing them, the longer they have to wait, the more likely it is that a prank or some kind of assault is bound to happen. I don’t want to make you go through that just yet, hun.” He groans into my side, dramatically sighs, “fine.”

Moments later we are both ready to go. I had to resist the urge to bombard him with kisses. It was not an easy task. He just looks too cute in the mornings.

I’m physically prepared for what’s about to happen, but mentally, I’m not so sure. My brothers can be brutal on these trips. I know Greg can handle it though. He can charm his way in or out of anything.

\----------

I’ve never really been the outdoorsy one of the family, my brothers have got that area pretty well covered. I would much rather watch the animals than kill them, but hey, they can do whatever they want. Greg, however, is all in, getting his hands dirty putting the bait on the hooks, casting his line like a pro. I can tell he is impressing my brothers.

This same excursion has happened every time there’s potential of a man marrying into the family. All of my sisters’ boyfriends have been through this but, generally, the person’s significant other is not a witness to the inquisition.

Christian and Taylor are twins. They’re the type of twins that can have a full conversation amongst themselves without ever saying a word, which always leaves me at a disadvantage where comebacks are concerned.

Taylor is the one to begin the questioning, “so Greg, what do you even see in our weird kid brother?” Greg begins to laugh, and I am amazed that he can think of a response as quickly as he does, it’s almost as if he had prepared answers to these questions. “Well, for one your brother is gorgeous, he is incredibly compassionate, and smart as hell.” I smile and feel a blush creeping up my face. Taylor seems satisfied with the answer. Christian on the other hand, has a different type of comment to add to the conversation, “well Nicky here has always been an ass man. Clearly in more ways than one.” He winks at me and I feel the heat rushing back to my face. I must be beet red. Greg is thrilled by the comment, “yeah, he definitely is. I really like taking advantage of that too.”

The questions continue, they’re asking about life in Vegas, work, and some of the gnarly crime scenes we’ve worked. One of them even asked about our first date. We reminisce about how after basically two years of what realistically could be considered dating, we actually acknowledged that what was happening, and the rest is history.

Greg describes the first real date, he talks about how we pretended to be cheesy tourists and drove out to Hoover Dam, even rented a convertible for the occasion. He talks about how our first kiss was at sunset on the Nevada-Arizona border, specifically so we could be kissing in two states at once, he got a kick out of that. What he thankfully omits from the story is the glorious details of the sex we had that night.

Christian apparently has his mind in the gutter today, “so, how is our dear Nicky in the sack?” I’m about ready to run for the hills, and die of embarrassment, but it seems like Greg is completely unbothered by the situation. He has always been fairly open about his sexual conquests. “Well, if you’d really like to know how good your brother is in bed, I’ll tell you. He is simply amazing, perfect even. He does this thing with his—” “Nope! No more!” my brothers shout in near unison.

I’m beginning to realize that I am the one being ganged-up on, and apparently Greg is in on the harassment too, “so when did you guys find out that Nick wasn’t straight?” I’ve told a variation on the story but apparently he needs familial confirmation. I try to roll my eyes as aggressively as possible to show my contempt for the situation.

Christian answers, “his first crush was Han Solo, we knew pretty early on that he was a weird one. But with seven kids in the house, we all expected that there would be one wild card. I guess we got lucky with parents that didn’t really care who we did, as long as we were safe and smart about it.”

I smile at the memory. I sure as hell did get lucky with my parents. Dealing with my sexuality could have been a very different experience, especially growing up in a very conservative area.

He continues the story, “our suspicions were confirmed when Nick was about 17 and my girl and I walked into the old barn and young, little Nicholas was sucking face with the quarterback of the football team. Then a month later we walked in on Nick screwing the head cheerleader. The kid sure got around.”

Taylor chimes in, “did you know that Nicky here always looked a little guilty after sneaking out to get laid?” I still at the comment. Christian and Greg begin to snicker, and my dearest Greg has the audacity to tell them that I still do. “He has zero poker face. Everyone can always tell if we’ve snuck off to have sex because my boyfriend just has ‘the look.’ Our coworkers think it is the funniest thing.”

By lunchtime, I have been thoroughly embarrassed by my brothers. They have divulged every dirty little secret and I’m over it. I just want to go lay on the hammock in the back yard and cuddle up with my baby. There’s a few other things I need to do before I can relax though. I need to prepare for a special evening in the barn.

\----------

Greg is in the house chatting with my family some more, now is a good time to sneak away to prepare for later. I go through my mental list of the things I need to grab to make this evening perfect. Pillows, blankets, a bottle of whiskey, and of course plenty of lube and condoms. Maybe I should grab some towels for good measure.

Once I’m satisfied with my setup, I go in search of my love. I find him reading out by the firepit, both dogs lounging at his feet.

I pull up the chair next to his. “Hey G.” “Hi honey. Did you have fun wandering around? Your mom said you used to always do that when you were growing up.” I nod, I ask him if he wants to go cuddle in the hammock. “Definitely.”

Once we’ve gotten comfortable on the hammock, we fall asleep almost instantly. By the time we wake up, its late afternoon.

“We should probably go shower and get ready for dinner.” He smirks, “only if we can shower together.”

When we’re in the safety of the bedroom I pull him in to a kiss. The first kiss is gentle, innocent enough, but the second kiss sends fire through my veins. My body reacts immediately. He pulls away and begins what can only be described as a strip tease. “Fiend!” I aggressively whisper at him. “We really do need to get ready darlin’.” “I know, but let’s have some fun first.” I cannot say no to him. “Shower.”

I turn on the water, and position us so we’re both under the spray. We rush to get ourselves clean so we can have a little fun. He moves in to kiss me. One kiss turns to more, and suddenly we are fully making out.

I drop to my knees and take his hard cock into my mouth. “Nicky, baby, harder. Fuck honey, that feels so damn good. Keep going.” His hands are in my hair, pulling slightly, oh I love that feeling. My left hand is squeezing at the base of his dick and the right is playing with his balls. I know he’s close, his balls are tightening, cock pulsing, and before I know it he’s coming in my mouth.

I let him slip out of my mouth as I get back up. I make sure to let him feel my arousal as I move. He takes me in his hand and starts to stroke. I’m so wound up that I’m not going to last long. He starts to stroke harder and faster. I moan quietly as I finish, “yes, G, yes. Fuck baby I love you.”

With us both in a state of pure bliss, we get out of the shower.

As we’re getting dressed, Greg starts to giggle, “uh, hey, Nicky… did you know your face screams ‘I just made my boyfriend come hard as fuck in my childhood bathroom’” All I can do is groan.

“Ready to go darlin’?” “Yep!”

\----------

As we’re walking to the table, I inadvertently make eye contact with Christian. I know he sees my facial expression. In response he shouts, “y’all, Nick’s got his sex face on!” Charlotte whacks him in the shoulder and gives him a stern look. The rest of my siblings can’t contain their laughter. Greg is trying to stifle his laughter as well, “I did tell you that you were making the face, babe.”

My parents are glaring at the motley crew. Even after all the kids have grown up, there’s still parenting to be done. Dad begins to holler, “HEY. Be appropriate. All y’alls’ kids are around.”

Once the antics have died down, and beers have been passed out, we all get seated for dinner. Dad made his famous smoked brisket, a Texan classic. There’s definitely nothing like good old Texas barbeque.

For the first time in quite a while, my whole family is sitting at the same table. I was a little worried that conversation wouldn’t flow as easily as it used to, but once we were all back together we talked as if we were never apart.

My boyfriend, ever the social butterfly, has been entertaining all of us. Talking about all of his scuba adventures, and writing his book on the history of Las Vegas. What really surprised my family was that he knew everyone on sight, even if he had never met them. He went around the table demonstrating his knowledge. “Ok, I know Charlotte is the oldest, next is Amy, then Carrie, then the twins, Laurie, and finally my beloved Nick.” I add in that he probably knows everyone’s jobs and their kids’ names too. I push him to continue, “Okay,” he begins, “Charlotte, Laurie and Taylor are lawyers, Carrie is a psychiatrist, Christian is a high school history teacher and football coach, and Amy is a finance analyst. Then there’s Nick, who is arguably one of the greatest crime scene investigators, aside from myself.” He winks at me, and for the millionth time today, I’m blushing.

My mom starts to laugh, “you know, half the time I can’t keep my own kids straight. I am so impressed that you can!” 

We continue to joke around and update each other on our lives. Greg dominates the discussion with all of his crazy stories. I’m beginning to think that I’m not the only one in my family who’s in love with him.

————

When the conversation has lulled and all of the kids seem to be entertained or, have been put to bed, my parents get up to dance. Some of my siblings and their spouses join in too. My parents have always taken the time to dance with each other after dinners, I think it might be one of the reasons their marriage has stayed so strong. It is always amazing watching them dance together, sharing a love that I always wished for. I smile as I realize Greg and I have that same kind of mutual love and adoration. I don’t have to wish for it anymore. I have it. I’m no dancer, but I was taught that one should never pass up the opportunity to dance with their partner.

I hear the faint beginnings of arguably the sexiest song of the country genre. I know Greg isn’t the biggest fan of country, but with this song I guarantee he will soon love it.

“Care to dance darlin’?” He looks at me as if he thought I’d never ask. “Of course, babe, I’ll always want to dance with you.”

With the first verse I pull him up off the bench and out on to the lawn. I draw him in tight with using his belt loops, placing my hands on his hips. He puts his arms around me and lays his head on my shoulder. I take this opportunity to sing along quietly in his ear “Baby Lock the door and turn the lights down low, put some music on that’s soft and slow, baby we ain’t got no place to go, I hope you understand, I’ve been thinkin’ bout this all day long, never felt a feeling quite this strong, I can’t believe how much it turns me on just to be your man…” I don’t know all of the words, just the ones important enough for this particular situation.

“Ain’t nobody, ever love nobody the way I love you. We’re alone now, you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to….” My little serenade is interrupted by a gentle kiss. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to continue, I keep singing into the kiss “…how much it turns me on, to be your man.”

From the outside, we probably just look like a couple in love moving along to the music. But we both can feel just how erotic this dance really is.

He discretely grinds into me. Pelvises meeting, feeling each other’s arousal. Dancing along to the song was supposed to be a turn on for him, but damn my plan has evidently backfired, and it is affecting both of us. Who knew that this could be some of the greatest foreplay?

A few songs later, the sun is beginning to set. I love living in Vegas, but there’s something to be said about a sunset over the Texas farmland. This is the perfect moment to show my future fiancé some of my secret places on the ranch. The places I promised to show him for some alone time.

It’s late enough that if we made our exit nobody would question it. With quick goodbyes said, we start on our way towards this evening’s main event. 

\----------

“What’s next Mr. Stokes?” “Well, my love, I thought I’d take you somewhere special.” “Now, are we talking somewhere special in the sense that you’ll fuck me there? Because damn babe I need you. I needed you last night and you turned me down because you’ve suddenly gone prudish on me. The fun in the shower just wasn’t enough, I need more of you. I need to feel you inside of me. That dance wound me up so tight that I could explode right here.” “You won’t be calling me a prude for very much longer darlin’, we’re going out to the old barn. it’s about a 5-minute walk. The barn is on the edge of the property.” “Perfect, I don’t have to keep quiet then.” I flash him a smug smile, “nope, not at all.”

As we are walking, he begins to ask about the barn. He wants to know what makes it special, “well, this is where I lost my virginity, also where I first kissed a guy, and where I first got drunk with my buddies.” “Oh really, well let’s add some new memories. I’ll have you screaming my name in record time.” My body is already reacting, and suddenly my jeans are far too tight. I break out into a run egging him on to follow me. The faster we get there, the faster the fun begins.

We finally reach the barn. It took a little longer than anticipated because running with a hard on is an interesting experience, and we had to make a few stops along the way to kiss.

“Here we are, hun.” I open the door and direct him to the stairs that lead up to the empty hay loft that I prepared earlier. “We’re headed right up there, G.”

We’re stumbling up the stairs, as it turns out, walking backwards up stairs, while lip-locked with someone is a little challenging, I have to force myself to break the kiss for safety reasons. The problem is, this is the type of kiss you can’t stop. It’s the type of kiss that’s full of all of the unsaid emotions of the moment, full of desire, need, lust. I whisper into the kiss, “G, if you keep this up, we’re going to end up fucking on the stairs, and as much as I’d love to take you right here, it will be much more comfortable on the blankets.”

We finally reach the loft, apparently, he can’t wait any longer and he jumps me. I pick him up, his legs wrapped around my waist, hands wrapped around his thighs. He’s kissing me passionately, tongues fighting for dominance. He’s grabbing at my t-shirt. I quickly break the kiss to pull off our shirts.

I lay him down on the blankets, grinding my body onto his, creating a delicious friction between us. Hands are roaming over chests, arms. Actions fueled by carnal desire. Somehow I manage to get his and my pants off in record time.

I kiss my way down his body. Starting at his lips, moving to his neck, his collar bones, down his chest, ending up at the top of his boxers. I tease along the waistband with my tongue. They need to come off as quickly as possible. I hook my fingers around and pull down the offending garment. I take him into my mouth, sucking gently, circling my tongue around the head of his cock. I start sucking harder, he starts to squirm. I love when he squirms, he begins to beg. I’m squeezing his thighs so tight that I guarantee bruises will show up by morning. He is moaning and groaning, tugging at my hair. It is pure bliss.

“Nicky stop, I don’t want to come just yet. Plus, you’ve still got your boxers on.” He manages to slip them off me and toss them somewhere, I’m painfully hard and need him to touch me. He flips us over so I’m the one laying on the blanket. He moves to straddle me, grinding down. I’m moaning loudly at this point, I’m so out of control that I can’t even be bothered to care who might hear me. I need him.

I struggle to grasp the bottle of lube that I stashed under one of the pillows. I finally grab it and put some on my fingers. I snake my hand around to his ass, spreading him open, inserting one finger at a time. “More baby, please” he moans. The second finger finds that bundle of nerves, shooting waves of pleasure through his body.

“Get inside me now.” He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I roll the condom down and slick myself up with extra lube. He slides on to me in one swift motion. God, I love this feeling. A few thrusts later I’m once again hitting his prostate, the noises that he is making aren’t even moans anymore. Just incoherent grunts of pleasure.

I’m close, so close to the edge. “Darlin’ I’m gonna come.” “Fuck, me too.” He arches his back, a telltale sign of his impending orgasm. Seconds later he’s shooting ropes across my chest, triggering my own toe-curling orgasm.

He rolls off of me, breathless “oh man, that was amazing.” I smirk, “I know.”

After what could only be described as a euphoric tryst, both satiated, we’re laying on the blankets. It’s definitely much less comfortable than I remember. “Hey Greggo, we should go back to the house and cuddle up in bed. But first we should shower darlin’. I mean fucking in a hayloft is dirty work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they dance to is "Your Man" by Josh Turner. Its a 10/10 song to dance to with your person ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phone calls send Nick on an emotional roller coaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would be TRASH if it wasn't for jiminthestreets_bonesinthesheets

Butterflies have taken over my stomach. There’s so many of them I feel like I could float. My mind is racing too. I have to ask his mom and everyone at the lab permission to marry him. I’m too much of a traditionalist to not ask, as anxious as it makes me. 

All of the self-doubt and what ifs have taken residence in my mind. What if he doesn’t want to marry me? Am I good enough for him? Will his mom say no? What will our friends say? Did I wait too long? What if he doesn’t even want to get married. 

I need to get a grip. I know he wants to marry me; we’ve been talking about it since it was legalized. It doesn’t matter if I think I’m good enough, he loves me. At least I think he does. He would have left me by now if he didn’t love me. I don’t know what everyone will say when I ask their permission. Hopefully they will say yes. What do I do if they say no? that’s not a possibility I’m prepared for. I think I should just ask him anyway. 

I need to take a walk before I wake Greg up, he can always tell when I get myself worked up. He says he can feel the tension radiating off my body. If he wakes up he’ll start to ask questions. 

It’s nearly three AM, early enough that the rest of the CSI crew would still be at the lab. Probably a good time to call them. 

As I’m walking out the door to the backyard, one of the dogs follows me, like Greg, animals all seem to be able to tell when I’m nervous. Maybe it’ll be nice to have some company to make this call. 

I’m too wound up to sit down, I have to settle for pacing around the yard. I’m shaking as I dial the number I have called so many times. It rings, and rings, and rings. Just as I’m about to hang up he answers.

“Hello?” 

“Hey Gris, it’s uh Nick, but you probably knew that because of caller ID, never mind. I was hoping you could pull everyone into a meeting. I’ve got something to ask y’all.” 

“Sure, let me round everyone up. May I ask what this is about? And why in the world do you sound so anxious? You’re not quitting on us are you?” 

“Definitely not quitting, but I’d rather wait until everyone is around to share.” 

“Okay. Let me go grab them.” 

My stomach is flipping, knees are going weak, I need to get it together before everyone is on the call. 

“Alright Nicky, I have Sara, Catherine, and Warrick on speakerphone here. Now what is it that you wanted to tell us?” 

“Well… uh… it’s… the thing is…” I stutter into the phone.

“Good lord Nick, spit it out” Catherine is not having any of these nerves. 

“I guess what I have to say is… uh, this trip wasn’t only about visiting family, I also plan on proposing to Greg while we’re here, and I wanted y’all’s permission to ask because you’re all family. I uh, also wanted advice on what to say.”

I hear Catherine squeal in the background, Warrick is chuckling in his signature way. Grissom and Sara remain silent. 

Catherine is the first to respond. “Sorry for snapping, but yes Nicky! Absolutely! I was wondering when you were finally going to pull the trigger, you two have been together for what 10 plus years?” 

“Yeah, uh about that long, actually 12 if you count the years we didn’t know that we were basically datin’.” 

Warrick is still chuckling, “damn bro, it took you so long to get your shit together. I married and divorced Tina before you two even kissed. I guess your relationship is more of a slow-burn. Definitely stick a ring on that kid’s finger.” 

“Gris? Sara?” 

“God damnit Nick, you know Greg is going to be a blushing bride for the next three months now. He’s not going to shut up about it.” I can hear Sara rolling her eyes through the phone. But I know she is happy for us. She was part of the reason Greg and I realized we were meant for each other. 

There’s a long pause, I would bet money on the fact that Grissom is contemplating the situation, trying to find the right thing to say. 

“Grissom?” I ask, mainly because I cannot stand the tense silence. Fuck I hope he’s not going to say no, or something negative. 

Finally, he begins to speak. “Well, Nicky, I don’t know that much about love, seeing as I was oblivious to what was right in front of me for many years, but what I see between you and Greg is something special. I say yes.” 

I feel tears running down my face. I definitely did not think I was going to cry. But wow, that was a lot. I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. 

Sara chimes in again “Nick, don’t do what Grissom did and nonchalantly say ‘let's get married’ okay?” 

Grissom retorts with a slightly aggressive “hey” and Sara laughs. 

“Rick, Cath? Any suggestions?” 

“Well I’d just speak from the heart, Nicky. It's romantic.” 

“Thanks Cath”

“Rick?” 

“Only speak from the heart if you don’t turn in to a stuttering, sputtering mess like you just did, that is not sexy man. But I know you’ll find the right thing to say.” 

“Stop teasin’ I’m nervous!” 

Grissom is sighing, “we know Nick. Also, it’s the middle of the night, shouldn’t you be in bed anyway? You’re on vacation. We have work to do. Goodbye now.” 

After a chorus of goodbyes, I hang up the phone.

I think I’ve calmed down enough to go back to bed now, at least I don’t think I’m radiating nervous energy any more. 

\----------

As I get back into bed and cuddle up to my love. Greg wakes up grumbles “where’ve you been, missed you, got cold, needed cuddles, you left me hanging.”

“Sorry darlin’ couldn’t sleep, didn’t want to wake you up.” 

He nestles up under my arm, head on my chest. I feel him kissing me. He mumbles something about helping me get to sleep while he reaches down towards my boxers, grabbing my cock. 

I’m powerless to deny him when he looks so damn cute. I relax into his strokes, quickly hardening. 

I move in to kiss his neck; he moves up to kiss my lips. He licks my bottom lip, tongues battling. I need him now. 

Screw my irrational rules. I need him. I don’t care anymore, so what if we’re having sex in my childhood bedroom, carnal desire is trumping my outdated fears of getting caught. 

“Greg I need you to fuck me, I want you inside me.” It’s not often that I’m on the receiving end, but today I need it. I need to feel all of him. 

“Okay” he giggles. 

I think he can tell that I’m riding high on emotion, he is taking his time working my body. He starts by making his way down my body, kissing, nipping, sucking, as he goes. My boxers are quickly removed. His hands stop at my hips, holding me down, taking my cock in his mouth. It feels amazing. Tongue swirling around the head. I’m writhing under his touch.

He lets me out of his mouth with a pop. I take his hard length in my grasp and begin to stroke. 

“You need to flip over so I can get you ready, honey.” 

“Mhm.” I mumble back. 

He moves to grab the lube. Somehow he has taken his pants off without me noticing. 

He takes a seat on my ass, slowly massaging my neck, shoulders, and back. I start to beg. He slides down my thighs so he can begin preparing me.

Lube is applied to his fingers, the first one is inserted. The first is always a strange feeling, foreign but welcome. Then the second one goes in, it’s easier and much more pleasurable. He pulls them both out and applies more lube. 

With the second finger he hits that bundle of nerves. I feel the pleasure rushing up my body, cock twitching against my stomach, leaking pre-come all over. 

After he inserts the third finger, he’s flipping us over so I’m on top of him. 

“Grab the condom babe, and slide it on me and put some more lube on me.” I quickly comply.

“Ok baby slide on to me.” He always guides me through the actions, it makes me feel so loved and cared for, all he wants is for it to be as pleasurable as possible for me. 

I groan as he slides into me, probably much louder than I should be, but he isn’t doing much better. 

Greg reaches up and claps his hand against my mouth. “I thought you were worried about being too loud. You’ve got to stay quiet Nicky.” “I don’t think I can. There’s just something about this.” I know exactly what it is, it’s the wave of emotions I’m feeling because laying here all of those years ago, I never felt that I would ever find someone that was so perfect for me. That feeling is mixed with all of the emotions of the phone call I just made. It’s completely overwhelming. Plus, he keeps hitting just the right spot.

I try biting my lip, forcing myself to stay quiet. 

I’m grinding on his body, he’s thrusting up. 

“Fuck” he moans.

We are beyond out of control, it's sloppy, messy, and needy. We’re both dripping sweat, it's amazingly sensual. 

He flips us over so he’s on top. His arms above my head, he leans down to kiss me, moaning and groaning into the contact. 

He moves to kiss my neck, nibbling on that spot just below my left ear. 

I grab on to his thighs, holding on for dear life. Never letting go.

I am so close. “oh shit, G, imma come” the second the words leave my mouth I’m shooting ribbons between us, moaning as quietly as I can muster, my shaking legs dropping from his hips. 

He follows close behind with his own orgasm, he leans down and whispers “fuck Nicky” into my ear. 

Out of breath, panting, he rolls off of me, both drenched and completely replete. 

I cuddle up to him, my head on his chest, we’re both quickly drifting off to sleep. 

\---------- 

When I wake up, I notice Greg’s leg is on top of the covers, I can see a bruise of my handprint marking his thigh. I must admit it’s hot, and clearly affecting me. 

I’ve always loved the look of marks I’ve left on my partners, but it’s always different with Greg. The marks seem to mean more than just leaving my mark on him. They mean that I’m so comfortable with him that I lose all control. 

Greg begins to stir next to me, “Mornin’” 

“Morning” he grunts back 

“Whatcha want to do today?” 

“Don’t know, did you have something in mind?” 

“Let’s just play it by ear, but first I wanna spend some time with you.” I rub my erection against him. 

“How can you possibly still be horny after last night and this morning, honey?”

“It’s all you, darlin’”

“Well you are going to take a very cold shower, while I go back to sleep” 

“Fine.” I sigh dramatically. 

With me showered and Greg woken up for the second time this morning, it's time for breakfast. 

My mom is sitting at the table sipping her coffee, reading the newspaper. 

“Morning mama”

“Good morning! Did y’all have fun last night? Sure seems like it.” She winks at Greg. 

Shit, she definitely heard us. “Uh…. I don’t know what you’re talking about. We were just sleeping.” 

Greg is snickering in the background. 

“Nicholas Stokes, you are a grown ass man, I know for a fact that you’ve been having sex since you were 17. And your brothers are right about you having a guilty face.” 

“Uh so you didn’t hear us?”

“No hun, you just look far more relaxed than you did last night, plus you’re sporting a smug smile. That’s how I know. I’m a prosecutor, I can read people like books.”

I’m beet red. “Can we just move on and have breakfast?” I stammer.

“Sure, you know where everything is. Make yourselves whatever sounds good.” 

“Greggo, eggs sound good?” 

“Yes please!” 

As I start cooking, I overhear their conversation, and oh man, am I glad to not be a part of it. I would be cowering in embarrassment. Leave it to Greg to have a conversation about our sex life with my mother. 

Eventually I can avoid it no longer, and bring the food to the table. 

“So, what’d y’all talk about while I was gone?”

“You don’t want to know the answer, Nicky.” Greg winks at me. 

I flush, and my mom grins. 

After we finish eating, I have some things to take care of, I need to find a way to get away from Greg without raising suspicion. My mom knows that I have to make the call. 

She asks Greg if he can help clean up the kitchen. 

“Hey G, I’m going to walk around and make some phone calls, check in on some cases in the lab. I’ll be back in a bit then we can figure out what to do.” 

“Sounds good babe. I think I’ll help your mom, then go sit on the hammock with a dog and read for a while.” 

I start walking towards the barn, I need to be far enough away that I’m out of earshot. 

I punch in the number, and the phone begins to ring….

“Hello?” she says in a singsong voice. 

“Uh, hi Mrs. Sanders, it’s Nick Stokes” 

“Oh hi dear! How are you doing? How’s your trip? How’s Greg?” 

“We’re doing just fine thank you, really enjoying being back home with my family and I think Greg is enjoying seeing Texas. My family loves him, which is no surprise. But that’s not the reason I called... I uh, wanted to ask your permission to marry Greg.” 

“Well it’s about damn time Nick!! Of course you can marry him, are you kidding? The two of you should have gotten hitched years ago.” 

I laugh because I know she’s right. I’ve known that he was the one since our first kiss. 

“Now what does the ring look like?” 

“It’s just small, silver, has a few black diamonds. I saw it and it just looked perfect.” 

“He is going to be so happy, I’m so excited for the both of you. What did your family say? What about the lab family?” 

“My parents are ecstatic; I don’t think they had any faith in me ever finding “the one” let alone getting married. I haven’t told my siblings yet because they can’t keep a secret, they’ll find out after I propose. As for the rest of the CSI crew, I called them early this morning before Greg woke up because I knew they would all be there. They were all extremely supportive and not at all surprised.”

“Well congratulations, and have Greg call me after you pop the question!” 

“Will do Mrs. Sanders.” 

“Goodbye Nick!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just need a little advice from your family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always, I need to thank jiminthestreets_bonesinthesheets for all of her help!

“Hey Cisco, do you have a second to talk? I gotta ask you somethin’”

“Sure thing Pancho, what’s on your mind?”

“Well I’m proposin’ tomorrow, and I guess I just need some advice, or moral support, or something. I don’t know what I need. I’m nervous as hell.” 

He looks pensive, “I knew you were up to something with that ring. Well, it’s a major event in your relationship, but you have nothing to worry about. Everyone who has seen the two of you together knows you’re meant to be, ignore what others might say or think, they don’t matter. The _only_ thing that matters is the love you feel for that man.” 

I smile. He is right, I don’t know why this is messing me up so badly. “How did you propose to mom?” 

He grins at me. “Well, you know we met in law school, and if a relationship can last through that stress, you know its forever. It’s kind of like the stress y’all go through at work, a constant force trying to rip everything apart. Well midway through out last semester, I decided that I was going to marry her, so I planned and on the night of our graduation after all of the family had gone, I got down on one knee and asked, simple as that. I don’t even remember what I said other than that I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Got married four months later. I mean you know the rest of the story, seven kids and 50 years later life is as good as ever.”

“Did you ever have doubts?”

“Of course I did Nick, you don’t make a life decision like that without a little doubt.” 

I contemplate my response. “I don’t doubt it though, I guess I’m just scared of what could go wrong, I’m definitely not afraid of the commitment, we’ve been together for long enough to prove that one. Thinking about it, I don’t even know what I’m afraid of.”

“I’ll tell you what I was afraid of, all of the legal consequences if it went south, but that’s mainly a lawyer’s fear. Y’all already own a house together right?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Then you have nothing to worry about, signing mortgage papers is infinitely worse, legally speaking, than marriage.”

“Really?”

“Yes, far fewer hoops to go through. Plus, there’s less waiting, and you don’t need a credit check for this one.”

I laugh, “You’re right about that.” 

“Of course I am, Nick. Have you thought about what you want to say? And have you called his family?” 

“I’m just going to tell him that I love him and all of that. I did call the lab family back in Vegas and I called his mom. Everyone said yes, his mom told me it took me long enough.” 

He laughs. “Well Pancho, it sounds like you know exactly what you’re going to do.” 

“Yeah dad, I think I do.” 

“Now go back into that bedroom and spend some time with that boyfriend of yours. I figured out that you were going to propose when you called me a week ago and asked if your old truck was running and if your spot up at the lake had changed. I called your brothers and asked them to take Greg fishing again today, figured you might need a little time to sort your thoughts out and prepare for however you’re going to propose.” 

“Thank you.” 

He winks at me as he’s getting up from the table, “I’m proud of you Nick.”

Guess I better go wake Greg up if he’s going fishing. 

When I walk into the bedroom, he’s sitting up in bed wearing that damn cowboy hat with his nose in a book. “Mornin’ darlin’.” I lean in to kiss him. 

“Morning honey” he whispers into the kiss. 

“I _really_ like that hat on you, I think it’s coming back home with us.” 

He laughs, “I was already planning on it after our first encounter with it.” 

“How long have you been up?” 

“Eh, maybe 20 minutes. Heard you get up and couldn’t fall back asleep.” 

“Well better get up and at ‘em, my brothers are taking you fishing again.” 

“Oh, okay, sounds good, what are you going to do today?”

“Well I thought I’d catch up with my mom, just spend some time with her. Then I’m going to see if I can get my old truck running. After dinner, I thought we might go on a little adventure.”

“Well I think any day with you is a perfect day, so I’m all in.” 

I kiss him again. “Good, now get ready ‘cause my brothers will be here in a few.”

“Ok babe.”

Not a second later, one of my brothers shouts “yo, Nick? Where’s Greg, we got plans!” 

\----------

After Greg leaves, I figure it’s probably a good time to talk to my mom, try to get some more advice, a different perspective. 

“Hey mama, you workin’ today?” 

“No hon, I just finished a huge trial, so I have a few slow days. Why?” 

“I wanted to talk to you about proposing to Greg.” 

“I knew it! I knew you didn’t carry that ring all the way here just to show us, you would have just sent a picture. So, what can I do to help?” 

“I’m nervous as all hell. I’m scared, but I have no clue what I’m afraid of. I just don’t know…” 

“When did you plan on proposing?” she cuts in. 

“Tomorrow night, up at the lake. In the spot that I would go to when the world got to be too much. You know the place.” 

“That I do, had to know of all the places you used to run off to.” 

I laugh, “yeah, that was probably for the best.” 

“Definitely. Have you thought about how you’re going to ask?” 

“Kind of, I figured I would just speak from the heart, hit all the high points, the I love yous, the I want to spend the rest of my life with you, all of that.” 

“That sounds good, Nick. Have you talked to your father about this?”

“Yeah, earlier this morning, he told me the story of y’all’s engagement.”

“Bet he conveniently left out the part that he was shaking so bad I had to put the ring on my own damn finger!” 

I start to chuckle, “no, he definitely left that one out, now I’m not too worried about my nerves.” 

“Oh, and he cried.” 

What. That cannot be true. “Wait, _dad_ , the sternest, most stoic man, the man scares hardened criminals, cried when he proposed to you?” 

“Yes.” She grins. “I tease him about it every so often. He cried at the wedding too.” 

“Wow. I know for a fact that I’m gonna cry.” 

“You will be fine Nick. Tears and all it will be amazing. I bet you Greg will probably shed a tear or two.”

“I think so.” I sigh. 

“Maybe you should talk to your brothers about their proposals, Christian has had three different shots at it!” 

I smirk, “I think I will when they get back.” 

She begins to chuckle, “as long as I don’t ever have to deal with another Vegas drive-thru wedding debacle involving a woman named Sugar Tits, everything will be great.” 

I join in on the laughter, “oh Sugar Tits, I haven’t thought about that in a long time.”

We carry on the conversation, talking about all of my siblings, my nieces and nephews, and all of the other things I miss out on because I live so far away. I tell her about my adventures, and misadventures of life in Vegas. Before we know it Greg, Christian, and Taylor are walking into the house, Greg holding a huge bass. 

“Looks like you caught something there darlin’” 

He looks so proud. “Yes, yes I did.” He says, grinning. 

My mom chimes in, “Greg, let me teach you how to properly cook up some Texan bass, let Nick have some time with his brothers, yeah?” 

“Sounds great!” 

Greg and my mom make their way to the kitchen while my brothers and I head out to the back yard, but not before making a stop to grab some beers out of the cooler.

We cross the yard to gather around the small fire pit that we built as kids, “whaddup weirdo?” 

I roll my eyes. “No need to be mean Chris.” 

“You know I’m teasin’ kid.” 

“Why the powwow Nick, need some brotherly advice about your crazy boyfriend?” Taylor asks as he cracks open his beer. 

“Uh yeah maybe, I’m going to propose tomorrow.” 

They both look genuinely excited. “Finally!” Christian exclaims. 

“Good on you, Nick. Y’all are great together, seems like he’s kept you pretty sane all these years. We thought you were going to lose it for a while there.” Taylor adds. 

“He definitely has. We have been through some serious shit with work and we’ve stuck together through it all. He is definitely the reason I haven’t gone off the deep end. It felt wrong to propose for all this time, but now it seems perfect. I found the perfect ring, and everything in our lives is just right. Seemed like a good time to do it.” 

“Enough of the sap, kid. What do you need advice about? We all know Chris is the most experienced.” Taylor jabs. 

“Shut up. Just because I don’t have the greatest taste in women doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing or two about love. Just drop to your knees, like I bet you already do, and pour your heart out, it’s simple.” Christian retorts. 

“Ugh, why did you have to make it sexual.” Taylor grunts. 

I’m feeling the blood rush to my cheeks, “uh yeah, I guess that’ll work.” I come to my senses and retort, “at least I’m not proposing to Sugar Tits, or a criminal!” 

“You jerk! The whole Sugar Tits situation is your damn fault! I seem to remember the whole thing happened because I went to visit my dumbass younger brother in Sin City where he got me _very_ drunk and took me to a club where I met a very nice lady and maybe thought it was a good idea to marry her. I can’t believe I got married by Elvis. And oh man, the shame of having to call mom and make sure that stupid little drive-thru wedding was not legally binding! Thank God I forgot the marriage license.” 

“Now let’s not forget the most recent proposal to that stock trader! The FBI stormed y’all’s engagement party, now that was classic.” Taylor quips. 

“How in the world did you not know that she was under investigation dude?” I add. 

“In my defense, she was gorgeous, and that may have clouded my judgement. Plus, she was arrested for insider trading, how was I supposed to know about that?” 

“That’s true. But…” Taylor pauses, “let’s not forget the original bad proposal, the shotgun wedding proposal to the cheater you thought you had gotten pregnant! She was a bitch! The best part was when she keyed the side of your car and carved in ‘not your baby.’ Seriously dodged a bullet with her.” 

“Did you ever get a paternity test done?” I ask 

Christian sighs, “yeah, I did after the keyed car. Definitely not mine.” 

We all get a laugh out of Christian’s history of proposals. 

I take a long sip of my beer. “As long as I can do this one right, I’ll be happy.”

Moments later my mom yells out, “boys! Fish is done!” and we file back into the kitchen. 

\----------

We’re all sitting around the firepit, just enjoying each other’s company, and after a day of acquiring all the advice my family can provide, I think it’s time for a little sunset excursion. I clear my throat, interrupting the conversation. I’m getting a little tired of sharing my beloved Greg with my family. Time to just sneak away together. 

I grab his hand intending to pull him up. “Excuse us, Greg and I have a little adventure to go on.”

Everyone looks unphased, “alright boys, have fun and be safe. Watch out for snakes.” 

Greg looks over at me concerned, “Snakes?” he says a little panicked

“Don’t worry about it hun.”

“Where are y’all off to?” my mom asks.

“Well that’s a surprise, can’t go spoilin’ it!” 

I start to pull Greg through the yard, running like two carefree kids. Once we’re alone again I pause and ask, “Greggo, when was the last time you rode a horse?” 

“Don’t know. Probably when I was a kid. Why?”

“I was thinkin’ we’d go for a little trail ride, watch the sun set, spend a little time together. Nothing too crazy” 

“Sure, as long as you keep me safe, honey.”

“Always darlin’” 

We walk the short distance hand in hand, just enjoying being near each other. 

When we make it to the stables, I introduce Greg to the horses we will be riding. 

“This old boy is Pepper, he used to be a rodeo horse, a barrel racer. Won a few titles in his heyday. He’s very feisty and will steal anything in your pockets so watch out for him. I’ll be riding him.” I smile. I missed this old boy. “For you, we’ve got Miss Fawn. She was born on the ranch, used to ride her mama when I was a kid. She’s very sweet and unlike Ole Pep over here, very well behaved. I’ll saddle them up and we can head out.” 

“Sounds good…cowboy.” he winks at me. 

As I’m tacking the horses, I feel his eyes on me. He’s watching me work. Maybe I can show off just a little bit. I’m definitely glad I wore my tight jeans. I wiggle my ass at him. 

He giggles, “do you know how much I love your ass?” 

“Uh, yeah, more than you love me.” I wink at him. 

“So not true Nicky, I love all of you.” 

I walk over to kiss him, “I love you too darlin’.”

Soon after, we’re on our way. We drift into a comfortable conversation talking about everything. I know we only spent a little time apart today, but I really did miss him. 

I show him how to walk the horse out of the stable so we can get on the horses and on the trail. With little difficulty, I help him on to the saddle before I effortlessly mount Pepper. Soon we are out on our way. 

We begin our ride in silence, the comfortable silence that can only be felt with someone you truly feel safe around. The silence is broken by Greg’s realization, “you know Nick, I never knew how relaxing it could be to ride a beast of an animal.”

I laugh, “yeah, I wish I could do it more often.”

He looks pensive, “maybe we can adopt a horse back in Vegas, find some nice stables, take him out to the desert do a little riding.”

I love the idea. Definitely requires further research though. “So, are you just assuming we’d both ride the same horse there Greggo?” 

“Well no, I figured you’d be the one riding.” 

“That’s no fun darlin’. If we did that we’d need two horses so we could go together. I don’t want to be out ridin’ in the desert alone.”

“Good point.” 

We ride along the trail for a while longer, both completely content looking at the scenery and enjoying the peacefulness of the outdoors. I look over to Greg, riding along beside me, and honestly, I cannot say that I have ever been happier. Greg is here, where I grew up, just enjoying being with me and my family. I hope he knows how much I appreciate it. 

“Hey Greg?” 

He looks over to me, “yes, babe?”

“Thanks for coming down to meet everyone and hang out. I know you’d met most of my siblings before coming down, but I think everyone has really enjoyed getting to know you and just generally spending time with you. It means a lot to me that you’re spending time bonding with them. Everyone thinks you’re amazing. And obviously they are right.” 

I pause a moment, “you know, my brothers even told me that you’re probably the only reason I’m still sane. I think they’re right.” 

He smiles at me. "Nicky, I would do anything for you, meeting your family is nothing! I wish we would have done it sooner even; I love all of them. I just wish I had more family to introduce you to."

“You know, some day we could have a family of our own.” I add.

“We definitely could, but it would take a lot of planning, especially with our jobs being the way they are.” Of course, he had to think about this rationally. But maybe he sounded a little disappointed? I don’t know.

With a slightly sad sigh I reply, “you’re right. Anyways, we’re almost to the end of this trail, shall we head back? It’s getting dark.”

We slowly make our way back to the barn. I quickly dismount so I can help Greg safely get down. 

“Hold my shoulder darlin’ so you can swing your leg over.” 

He does and I pull him in to an awkward hug-like position. I take advantage and grab under his thighs to pull him in to a proper embrace as he slides down off the saddle. 

“Alright, now I’m going to show you how to get these lovely beasts ready to go back in their stalls. First we’ve got to get their tack off then we need to groom them. I’ll untack and you can just sit there and look cute.” 

“Good, that way I can watch you work. I get to watch your muscles flex. It’s quite the sight.” 

“Don’t distract me hun, we can’t go foolin’ around with the horses out.”

I skillfully remove all of the gear and hitch the horses up so we can move on to brushing them. 

“Alright Greg, come brush Miss Fawn. Start on her neck and make your way down one side, but don’t stand directly behind her. Make sure you’re brushing in small circles.”

“Can do babe!” 

I look back over at him and he is brushing in the tiniest circles. I have to fix this, show him how it’s done. I grab is hips, “no hun, like this.” I take his hand in mine and start brushing in slightly larger circles. I kiss his neck as we continue brushing down the horse’s body. 

We finish brushing one side, “think you can do the other side on your own?” 

“I mean I could, but you could also keep helping me...and that way you can keep kissing on me.”

“I guess I could do that darlin” and I am more than happy to stay just like this. 

We finish brushing both of the horses, bodies pressing together, my hand guiding his. He starts to grind into me, and he knows I’m a sucker for it. He knows I’ll quickly lose focus. 

“We’ve still got grooming to do darlin’ stop distracting me.” 

“Fine.” He sighs dramatically. 

“Next up is the mane, you’re on your own for this one Greggo, because I have seen what you can do with hair. you’ll be just fine.”

He just laughs. 

I turn my back for a minute to quickly brush out Pepper’s mane and tail, and Greg has done this immaculate braid down Fawn’s mane.

“How the hell did you do that so fast!” 

“I’m a hair expert, do you not remember the evolution of ‘do?” 

I pull him in for another kiss. 

\----------

After what feels like an eternity of tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep, I look over to the clock. Two AM. I can’t sleep. My mind is racing, all I feel is this weird combination of tremendous excitement and paralyzing anxiety. 

Everything in my life is going so right, and it could so easily go very wrong. I feel like I’m teetering on the edge of a cliff waiting for this bubble of happiness I’ve been living in lately to pop. That’s what tends to happen. I get to a good place. A happy place and then the universe decides to shit on my parade. 

But I can’t get stuck in that headspace. What I’m about to do is poised to be one of my top five happiest moments in life. He loves me. He fucking loves me. 

He is currently sleeping on my chest like he always does, muttering things in his sleep as I rub his back. I draw hearts, I write my name. I trace the faint bruises I leave when we get rough. 

I know that things in life might go wrong. They always do, but I need to think of it this way, in Greg I have found the greatest support system, a confidant, he knows what I go through at work because he is right there experiencing it with me. He is everything I have ever needed in a partner. 

I hope that he understands how much I love him, how much I need him, and frankly how much my life depends on him. 

I take a deep breath. I need to calm down enough to at least try to fake being asleep. So far nothing is working. 

Looking at the walls, I realize just how many memories are here in this room. Most of them good, some not so great. 

One photo catches my eye, I’m standing outside the state capitol with three of my best friends from high school on one of the many school trips meant to educate us on civics, or history, I can’t even remember. But I know I was not actually happy, I spent most of that school year doubting myself and feeling like shit because I could never live up to anyone’s expectations. All of my siblings were off doing big important things, and there I was without any direction in life. I wonder what kind of advice Greg would have given me. I bet it would have been amazing. 

My mind starts to wander to the idea of Greg being a dad. He would make an amazing dad. That kid would have an amazing life, full of adventure, and full of love and support. 

Would I make a good dad? I don’t even know. I’ve definitely always had a weak spot for children, something just clicks, and this horribly protective instinct just kicks in. I want a family of my own. I really do. 

But am I too aggressive to have kids? I know there are things that set me off like no other. 

I look back to Greg’s bruised back and sides. If this is what happens when I feel so much love that I can’t control myself, I’m scared to see what might happen when my child is involved. 

You know, I’d probably go soft for my kid, I would give that kid the world, take care of them. Shit, do I want to have a kid? I think I do, sooner rather than later.

I wonder what Greg thinks, we’ve never really discussed having kids in any detail other than the fact that we eventually want a family and that it would take a lot of meticulous planning. But that’s a worry for another time. Step one is proposal, two marriage, three, the rest of our lives. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night at the lake with Nick and Greg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jiminthestreets_bonesinthesheets--thank you for all of you help and love you gave this chapter.

“G, you ready to go?” I ask, trying to stifle my obvious nerves and excitement. 

“Sure, honey. Do I need to bring anything?” 

“Uh, I don’t think so, maybe just a jacket. I have everything else.” 

“Okay!” 

I have everything set up perfectly, my old truck runs, I got the pillows and blankets, and picked up a six-pack of PBR. Obviously I have the most important item tucked away in the glove box of the car. It would have been pretty pathetic to forget the ring when planning to propose. 

We stroll out to the car, hand in hand, he’s giving me funny looks, I think he knows something is up. He better not know; I’ve planned this too meticulously. I think he just senses that my mind is running at a thousand miles an hour. 

“Where are we going honey?” he asks, maybe in an attempt to get me out of my thoughts. 

“Not tellin’” I say with a sly smile. 

Soon enough, we’re ready to go, loaded up in the car, Greg hopefully still oblivious to the planned events. 

We’re maybe two minutes into the drive before I get so excited that I just have to tell where we’re going and what we’re doing, just leaving out a small detail of the evening. 

“So darlin’…” I start. “You asked me to take you on a date that I would have planned in high school, so here we go. We’re going to drive out to the lake, drink some cheap beer, and set up the bed of the pickup so we can sleep out under the stars.” 

“Oh! that sounds amazing!” Good. Genuine excitement. 

“Well first we have to drive out there, and the best part of driving this old pickup is that you can sit up close to me because of the bench seat, so move on in closer hun.” I wink at him, and he immediately gives in, quickly undoing his seatbelt. 

“Though, one problem with this truck is that it’s a stick, and I can’t hold your hand. But I’ll settle with having you nuzzled up to me.” 

He scoots his body closer to mine, as close as he can safely be before flashing a mischievous grin. “Well I could make this more fun, are we going to be driving down any major roads?” 

“No sir, back roads the whole way. One of the many benefits of the great state of Texas.” 

“Oh good, so I can do this then…” 

He moves his hand to my thigh, up to my belt buckle deftly flicking it open. 

“Whatcha doing there, hun?” whatever it is, I like it, and my body is reacting. 

“Um, I’m keeping with the theme here… I’m doing what _I_ would have done in high school, road head was kind of my specialty.” 

Oh shit. This is going to be good. 

“Why am I not surprised by that?” 

“Because you know me.” He gives me a smug look. 

I chuckle, he is right, this is something he would do. 

“Plus, I never get to do this in Vegas because there’s always too many people on the roads, or we’re on the way to a crime scene. Both inappropriate times to go down on my man.” 

“Well, be my guest darlin’” Fuck, I’m in for it. 

He moves to the button of my jeans, quickly opening it. The zipper, though, is a completely different story. He takes his sweet time, dragging his knuckles along my hardening cock. Oh man, I need to focus on the road, thank God I won’t have to shift gears any time soon. 

Before I know it, he has pulled me out of my boxers, dick proudly standing out for anyone to see. 

I fail to stifle a groan as he grasps my length. 

Greg takes the opportunity to lazily stroke up and down, light, fluttering touch. 

“Don’t tease me Greggo, I need to focus on the road.” I grunt. 

“Fine.” He exhales as he takes me all the way into his mouth. He’s sucking hard, obviously not playing around here. Up and down, in and out. 

“Fuck.” I groan “Yes hun. Fuck baby.” 

I think he likes sucking me off so much because it leads to me becoming a groaning, moaning disaster faster than anything else. He likes it when all of my walls are down and I just give in to the bliss. 

This was not part of my original plan for tonight but damn, I’m not complaining. He’s making me lose my mind in the best way possible. I’m gripping the steering wheel so tight I’m white knuckling, I need to maintain control. 

The benefit here is that I’m not thinking so much about proposing anymore. All of the nerves are gone, now only feeling white hot pleasure. 

I never last very long when he sucks me like this, where he’s just taking the tip in his mouth and doing amazing things with his tongue just below the head. One hand gripping my thigh, the other my cock. Moaning while I’m in his mouth. The moans sending vibrations through my body. 

I don’t think any of the noises I’m making at this point are coherent, just moans, sounds of pure ecstasy. 

With a groan I’m coming in Greg’s mouth, fighting to keep my eyes open and keep my head from falling back against the headrest. 

He pulls himself up with a pop and cuddles back into my side, clearly proud of himself. 

“Fuck darlin’, that was amazing. Shit.” I slouch a little further into the seat, body feeling a little like Jell-O. 

I fumble to make myself decent again as he moves up to kiss my neck, where he mumbles, “you know going down on you turns me on like nothing else, I’m so hard Nicky.” 

Nibbling a little on my neck, he drags my hand over to his denim clad cock, “I could pull myself out and finish off so quickly, but I want to wait and see what you have planned. Hopefully that plan involves some hanky panky.” He says winking at me. 

His next move is to slightly buck up in my hand, seeking some kind of friction to take the edge off. I move my hand to undo the button of his strained jeans and shove my hand down into his boxers to give him a few teasing strokes. 

He swats at my hand, “Nick! Both hands on the wheel! Just listen as I do it.”

Holy fuck. I hear the obvious sounds of his hand moving up and down his cock, I force myself to keep my eyes on the road, a near impossible task.

“I need you to stop that... we’re so _close_ ,” I pause realizing the double meaning of the statement, “we’re so close” I repeat, this time groaning the words, trying to hold it together for just a while longer. 

“We’re close to the lake,” I finally get out, “once we get there, we’re going to crack open a beer and just be together. And you best believe I plan on properly foolin’ around with you.” 

He slowly pulls his hand out of his pants, “you fucking better Nick. I have no issue doing this myself!” he teases. 

I quickly lean over and give him a peck on the cheek. God, I love this man, but hell I’m nervous. 

Moments later we’re pulling up to the lake, to the same secluded spot I used to go to, right on the shore, nobody around, my sanctuary from the world. 

Throwing the truck in to park I mentally prepare myself for what’s about to happen. I know I want to propose soon, I just need to wait for the right time. I cannot let him see my nerves, that would ruin the surprise. Guess it’s time to get this show on the road. 

“Alright darlin’ this is my spot.”

It’s just as I left it all those years ago, a small clearing in the trees surrounding the lake, nobody around for miles.

Greg pulls me out of my thoughts, “what do we do first, honey?” 

“First we do this…” I yank at his belt loops to pull him in tight for a kiss, still feeling his arousal against my thigh. I need to stop this before it goes too far. I want to be engaged before this goes any further. 

After breaking away from the kiss, that could have derailed the entire course of the evening, I give him his instructions, “why don’t you set up the bed of the truck? The air mattress is already inflated and laid out, you just have to grab the blankets and pillows from the back seat. I’ll grab the beers.” 

“Can do!” 

When I'm out of his line of sight, I take a long steadying breath before grabbing my designated items. The beers were conveniently placed below the glovebox so I could quickly, and hopefully stealthily get the ring out of the box, and shove it in a pocket, so far so good. 

“Nick!” he suddenly shouts, “it’s all set! Hurry up, I don’t want to miss the sunset.” He sounds so excited. 

“Comin’ darlin’” I’m hit with an insane wave of butterflies, but I can’t focus on that right now.

After making my way around to the back of the truck, I climb up on the tailgate and crawl on to the air mattress. He moves himself closer to me reflexively, lays his head over my heart. 

“Why’s your heart racing?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m still all wound up from that little performance on the drive up here. Maybe you can give me an encore later, or I can return the favor.”

He laughs, I think I’ve dodged that bullet. He seems to quickly move on from my anxious heart rate. 

“So how many dates have you brought up here?” 

I sigh, “only one actually. I normally came up here alone, I liked the quiet. Liked being able to escape the chaos of life.” 

“Well what made that one date special enough to bring up here?” 

“I thought I was in love with her. I told her I loved her for the first time here.” 

“Did she love you?” 

“Maybe, I don’t know. We broke up about two weeks later. Looking back on it, I really don’t think I was actually in love with her. I think it was just a desire to be in love.” 

“I know what you mean. I’ve fallen in love more times than I care to count, but there’s only one time I’ve stayed in love.” 

“You better be talkin’ about me darlin’, or else I’ll throw you out into the lake!” I joke.

“Of course, it’s you, Nick. It’s always been, and always will be you. Now pass me a beer so we can sit back and enjoy this sunset!”

With the beers distributed, we sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments. My heart is racing, and my stomach has been invaded by a second flock of butterflies and an unpleasant wave of anxiety induced nausea. The damn beer was supposed to help. 

Maybe now is a good time to propose, the sun is at that perfect level, and it’s still light enough that he will be able to see the ring. 

I take a long swig of my beer. Now or never… 

“One second, darlin’ I gotta do somethin’” I grunt as I shimmy my way out of his grip. He looks confused. 

I continue to awkwardly move my body down the mattress, I need solid ground for this, I’m too shaky to keep myself balanced on the air mattress, and tipping over would definitely not make the list of ‘the top 10 most graceful proposals’. 

Once I’m safely out of the truck bed, I ask “now, would you please join me darlin’? 

“Sure. But what in the world are you doing babe?”

“You’ll see.” I dig around in my pocket for the ring. Got it. It’s showtime. 

Once he is sitting on the tailgate, looking a little annoyed that I got him out of his comfortable spot, I sink down to one knee. 

“Wha….what are you doing?” He jumps to the ground. 

“Greg…”

“Nicky…” Tears are welling in his eyes. 

I feel myself starting to cry as well. I frantically swipe at the tears threatening to escape. 

“The thing about love is it happens when you least expect it, and it hits you about as hard as the quirky, kind of crazy DNA tech running through the halls of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I didn’t realize I was in love with you until much later though. I realized I was in love with you when we first kissed. That’s also when I realized that I would go through hell and back to spend the rest of my life with you. What I want to know is, Greg Sanders, will you marry me?” the waterworks have begun, tears streaming down both of our faces. 

He looks at me stunned, mouth open, fighting to find words.

“So, what do you say? You’re killing me here G.” 

“Of course I’ll fucking marry you!” 

He pulls me off my knee into a kiss that is equal parts gentle, full of love, and passion filled need. When we break apart I shakily slide the ring on his finger. 

“What do you think?” 

“It’s perfect, I love it, but I love you more…I’ve been in love with you since our first conversation. I went weak in the knees when I first heard that Texan drawl. You always had a chance Nick. I just wish we had realized what we meant to each other sooner.” 

We hold each other for what feels like hours, just kissing, crying, being totally in love. 

“Let’s go lay back down, I want you Nick.” 

“Yes.”

We get back in our makeshift bed and our actions become frantic and lust-filled. Sloppy kisses, hands tangled, clothes at risk of being destroyed, shirts thrown off our bodies. 

“Greg” I pant between kisses, “I need you. Please darlin’ I need you.” 

“You have me now and forever honey.” He teases, knowing full well I meant I needed him physically. 

I’m so hard that my jeans feel suffocating, I somehow manage to undo Greg’s belt mid kiss. 

“What’s the rush Nicky? We have all the time in the world.”

“I know but right now I’d give anything to feel you, hand, mouth, ass it doesn’t matter, just touch me please.” 

He is trying to kill me, kissing and biting his way down my chest until he reaches my belt buckle. He pauses above the buckle, sucking at the skin directly above it, I buck into the contact. What he does next takes me by surprise, he drags his mouth on to the buckle, licking at it. As he takes the buckle between his lips, he looks up at me so intensely, his eyes filled with love and desire. 

“Greg, shit.” I moan, head falling back against the pillow. 

This man is going to be the death of me, and I couldn’t be happier.

He actually unclips the large metal buckle from the leather with his mouth, or his tongue, not sure which.

I don’t know how he even achieved that, but it was most definitely one of the hottest things I have ever witnessed. 

“Please, please, god, please, fuck.” I ramble. 

“Damn, I like it when you beg babe.” He says as he undoes the button on my pants. He takes the small metal tab of the zipper between his teeth and drags it down, making sure I feel his chin against my erection before yanking my boxers down and grabbing my waiting cock. 

“Fuck” I moan at the contact. 

I nearly lose it on the first stroke. There’s a new feeling, a foreign feeling as he moves his hand. Feeling the ring on his finger as his hand is wrapped around me is insane. It adds a new sensation, the chilled metal interrupting the heat of his grip.

I don’t know if it is literally just the feeling of the metal or the emotions of the situation, but I need him, and I need him now. 

“Ugh, Greg, I want to fuck you.” 

“I thought you’d never ask, honey.” 

I ungracefully kick my pants and boxers off as I dive in for another sloppy kiss.

“Clothes off” I grunt after flicking the button of his pants open. He hurriedly discards the rest of his clothing. 

I move to kiss down his neck and chest as I make my way down his body to my ultimate goal. When I reach it, I lick the tip of his waiting cock before taking it in my hand and giving it a few firm strokes, sending shivers down Greg’s body. 

“Enough. Enough. I need you now Nick, please, please. Now!” He says, panting. 

“Toss me the lube hun” 

He does, and I apply it to my fingers to prepare him. 

“Be quick about it Nick, shouldn’t take much prep.” 

He’s right, he’s already relaxed, but I use my fingers for good measure. 

“Get inside me now” he growls.

I frantically roll the condom down and squeeze on a little too much lube.

He throws his legs over my shoulders as I thrust inside him. 

Neither of us are going to last very long, both so desperate for release. Especially in this position, it’s just a perfect storm of pleasure.

With the next thrust I hit that sweet spot and he moans so loudly that someone in the next county could have heard him. 

I’m not doing much better, simply grunting and groaning between yeses and oh fuck’s

“Nicky I’m almost there” 

I lean in to kiss him once more, whispering “me too” into the kiss 

With a groan he is coming between us, I follow seconds later. 

“Fuck Nick,” he sighs, “that was amazing.”

“The best part is, we get to do that for the rest of our lives.” 

I roll off of him breathless, “god, that was awesome.”

He grins at me as he places his head on my sweat-covered chest. 

“I love you.” He mumbles. 

We lay together for a while, just watching the sunset turning into moonrise, waiting for the stars to shine.

\----------

“Hey hun?” I ask, turning my body to face him. 

“What’s up...fiancé?” I grin at his use of the new moniker.

“Would you maybe want to go skinny dipping with me?” I waggle my eyebrows at him. 

“Nicholas Stokes!” He exclaims, “what has gotten into you! First the mind-blowing sex and now this? God I love you.” 

“And I love you.” 

“But did you bring towels? I don’t want to get the blankets all wet and freeze my ass off all night.” 

“Of course I did, I came prepared! I have secretly wanted to go skinny dipping in this lake since I was a kid, and I figured why not now?” 

“Alrighty, let’s go then.” He concedes. 

“I’ll race you to the water!”

“You’re on baby.” He smiles mischievously. 

We both scramble up and off the tailgate, Greg taking an early lead, but that was my intention, specifically so I could watch his adorable butt move with each stride. 

When I finally reach the edge of the water he looks at me suspiciously, “why’d you let me win” 

“Because I wanted to watch your ass.” I reply as I give his ass a playful little smack, “let’s get on in darlin’”

“Of course you did” He says, rolling his eyes at me. 

I hold his hand as we walk into the water, releasing it only when we start to swim out to where the water is up to our shoulders. 

“C’mere darlin’. I want to hold you and kiss you. And love on you.” 

He swims the short distance between us and wraps his legs around my hips, I pull him in to a tight cuddle. 

I cannot resist kissing him when he is this close to me, eyes boring into my soul. I dip my head down to give him a tender kiss.

As we continue, the kiss becomes less gentle and more passionate, tongues are fighting for dominance, lips being bitten.

I break away from the kiss, “do you know how much I love you Greg?”

“Probably about as much as I love you, which is a ridiculous amount.” 

“I love just holding you. It’s where I feel safest. Like there’s nothing in the world but us, no stress, no work, no dark thoughts, just you and me. If I died right now, I’d be the happiest man on this damn earth.” 

“Nick you cannot go dying on me, you’re not allowed to. You just proposed! But I understand, and you know, I feel the same. I don’t ever want to have to face a world without you in it.”

He places his hand on my cheek and goes in for a final, loving kiss. 

“We don’t have to worry about anything but us at this moment, it's just you, me, and the big open skies of Texas for the rest of the night. We can worry about the rest of the world tomorrow. For now, let’s get out, get dried off, and cuddle up. Plus, I’m getting cold!”

“Me too. I wanna look at the stars.”

\---------

After a whirlwind of a week of family and emotional rollercoasters, it feels particularly wonderful just holding Greg in my arms. Head against chest as always, our favorite position. It feels safe, feels like home. 

“Hey G?” I ask, rubbing my hand up and down his back, more in an attempt to comfort myself. 

“Yeah?”

“I need you to know something.” I take a deep breath. 

“What is it?” 

I think he senses the gravity of what I’m about to tell him. 

“You know after we’ve been through, I don’t think I’d still be around if it wasn’t for you. Before we really got close, I had some dark days. Couldn’t sleep for weeks at a time. After I was buried it all went to hell though. There was one day I was really contemplating ending it all. I was thinking about the note I’d write. But then you called me right when I got home and asked if I wanted to come over and watch some zombie movie that had just come out. That call and stupid movie saved my life Greg. I knew I couldn’t leave you. I didn’t know it then but fuck, I was so in love with you.” 

He’s silently crying next to me. 

“Nicky...I never knew that. Never knew how much you hurt.” 

“Nobody did. I made sure to hide it. Nobody could know just how fucked up I was. I wish I had let you in sooner. Let you help me through everything.” I begin to break down, tears streaming down my face once again tonight. 

“Nick, you did though. You let me hold you when you broke down. You let me see you cry, like you’re doing now. And even though you weren’t talking you were processing. And now look at us, both crying in the back of a pickup truck after you just promised to spend the rest of your life with me. That’s amazing Nick. And you know what? You’re the one that stuck by me during my worst moments, when I hit that kid in the alley, you stuck by me, defended me. It didn’t matter what you had going on. You dropped everything to be by my side and that means the world to me. I wouldn’t have stayed at the lab after that if it wasn’t for you. For a brief moment I considered transferring to the east coast, as far away from Vegas as I could get. Yeah I’d miss everyone at the lab, but you, you I couldn’t leave. We had already formed this crazy bond. I may have known we were soulmates then. But fuck I needed to be near you no matter how bad it got.” 

“I know we have had our ups and downs as individuals and as a couple, but all that matters is that we always stuck it out, no matter how hard it got, we fought and continue to fight for each other.” I whisper.

I lean in to kiss his tear stained face, “you mean everything to me” I mutter against his lips, “I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to prove that to you in every way I can.”

“Why bother waiting? You can start now, show me how much you love my body, how much you love how I react to your touches.”

I’m doodling circles around his back as we continue to kiss, I reach down to cup his ass, directing him to get on top of me. 

We continue the languid kisses amidst the words of love and commitment. 

I flip us over so I’m back on top, “wanna get you back for the road head earlier.”

He smirks. “Ok, but don’t make me come, I want to feel you inside me again Nick, want to come with you.” 

“Anything for you.” I say into the final kiss against his lips

I move my mouth down his chest until I reach his hips. I smile up at him, “I’m going to mark you as mine.” 

I suck a bruise right on top of the bone before kissing my way over to his waiting cock, leaking with desire. 

I take it in my mouth, sucking gently, teasing at the slit with my tongue, lapping up the liquid. The more of him I take into my mouth, the harder I suck, the closer he gets to the edge. His breathing labored by desire and pleasure, writhing beneath me, melting into the feeling. 

He begins to tug at my shoulders, telling me that he has had enough.

Moving back up his body I find his lips once more, “I want you” I groan into the kiss.

He flips us once again so he is back on top, sliding down to sit on my thighs, after rolling the condom on, he grabs the lube, applying it to my dick, soft and sweet, nothing like the lusty experience we had earlier, this is just pure love. 

He sinks himself down on me and rolls his hips around as I thrust up. 

Greg continues to roll his hips into me, deepening each thrust, he tosses his head back, I know he’s loving this. 

His hands are against my shoulders, and I feel that new foreign feeling once more, the ring on his finger, now pressed into my shoulder. 

I slide my hands up his thighs to the fading bruises I had left earlier in the week, I love the marks on his body, it's a very primal instinct, he’s mine. I realize the ring sends the same message. 

“I love you” I try to say, but it come out more like a moan.

I reach up to grab his left hand, to feel the ring against my own fingers. I bring the metal band up to my lips, placing a gentle kiss on the diamonds before placing both of our hands back on his bruised thigh. 

“I love you Nick, more than anything.” he whispers. 

I continue to thrust into him eliciting small moans with each movement. 

As I hit his prostate, he falls forward into a kiss and I easily flip us around once more. 

We’re lost in the love and passion of the moment, and before we know it we’re both climaxing to ecstasy. 

I’m first to finish this time, with one final thrust I feel myself thrown over the edge, coming hard. 

I once again grab his hand in mine, this time also grabbing his cock, both stroking him to oblivion, my hand on top of his as he comes against our hands and chests with a drawn out “oh.”

For the second time this evening, I roll off of Greg, breathless, replete, and hopelessly in love

“Darlin’ let’s clean ourselves up and get some clothes on, it's getting chilly and I really just want you wrapped around me as I drift off to sleep.” 

That sounds perfect, just like the rest of tonight has been. 

I love you Greg, and I am so damn happy you said yes.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually the idea that started this whole fic, it is kind of based on a spot at a lake in Texas that I'd escape to when I was in college. 
> 
> Also, special thanks to panchostokes for helping me finally decide if Greg was going to cry at the proposal.


End file.
